Should I stay or should I go? About five years ago, the Center for Literacy faced just this dilemma.
It’s a big decision for a nonprofit to relocate. There's a lot to consider: how much and what kind of space is necessary (surprisingly difficult to figure out when you’ve made do for a long time), whether to lease or buy, and how a new location will affect clients.
Thanks in part to the Collaborative, the Center for Literacy is now making the leap from its original home, a “dysfunctional but full of character” Victorian house at 48th and Baltimore, to a new 10,000 square feet facility at 399 Market Street.
In Philadelphia, there are an estimated 400,000 adults with less than a fifth grade education. The high school drop out rate in Philadelphia is 38%. The Center for Literacy (CFL) meets the diverse literacy needs of adult learners through specialized programs, including a wide range of community classes and volunteer tutoring. CFL conducts community classes at nearly 100 locations in Philadelphia and Delaware County at schools, public libraries and community sites.
CFL’s original building had become costly to operate and a poor fit for its administration and educational programs. The literacy center wanted to establish a larger headquarters and regional education center—but where?
The Collaborative arranged a walk-through of CFL’s West Philadelphia facility with Richard Winston, AIA. He confirmed that it was not feasible for CFL to expand at it present site. The Collaborative subsequently matched CFL with volunteer Matt Huffman to provide advice on the organization’s current and long-term programmatic needs—and how they translated into space needs. This information is essential for scoping out future locations. The Collaborative continued to advise CFL as they considered potential sites.
In a recent update to Heidi Segall Levy, JoAnn Weinberger, President and Executive Director of the Center for Literacy shared the news of the move, “Thanks to you and the Community Design Collaborative and the involvement of Matt Huffman, our search for a new home and the needed designs were incredibly well-done, timely, and with personal involvement. Matt was an incredible asset…”
